Merry Christmas!

We wish you Merry Christmas ...

and all the happiness you could wish for..!

EuroPharm Forum Observatory, knowledge and search facility for pharmacy practice

The purpose of the EuroPharm Forum Observatory is to collect and display information in order to develop pharmacy practice. Hopefully, knowlegde of the EuroPharm Forum Observatory and its contents will spread worldwide, and people with an interest in pharmacy practice will use and contribute to the information on the Observatory.

The Observatory can be used in many ways. A hint is to use the SEARCH facility in the upper right corner. This searches all contents in the entire Observatory and will quickly guide you to the right pages. Another way is to enter via the elements below. Each element has it's own purpose and structure.

	Discussions on pharmacy practice Create your own discussions on topics of interest, and invite others to contribute		Pharmacy Practice Documents Find and provide links to documents of importance to pharmacy practice
	EuroPharm Forum Practice Domains Follow and contribute to discussions within professional practice domains		Evidence-based Pharmacy Practice See the evidence for pharmacy practice, and contribute with your own evidence
	Pharmacy Practice Events Find information on conferences, seminars, meetings, etc., and list your own

The EuroPharm Forum Observatory is organised as a wiki. Anyone with an interest in the development of pharmacy practice may use and contribute to the site. In order to contribute and add comments, you must be a registered user. Activate RSS feeds to receive automatic alerts of changes to the Observatory.

The Observatory is owned and maintained by the EuroPharm Forum in collaboration with the WHO Collaboration Centre for Drug Policy and Pharmacy Practice Development, Pharmakon, in Hillerød near Copenhagen, Denmark.

Source

http://europharm.pbworks.com/

SanAntonioPHARMA project by the European Fellowship for pharmacists

The <News> section of the EAHP website (European Association of Hospital Pharmacists) informs the Hospital Pharmacists that in the past two years, the European Fellowship for Pharmacists (EFP) has covered the meetings of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in 2008 and 2009. We are now expanding our project to the 2009 Breast Cancer Symposium in San Antonio as well as the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), to be held June of 2010.


Please sign up for this FREE educational report through the EFP.

Currently, the website is in French but the pdf will be delivered to you in ENGLISH one month after the symposium. Please follow the directions below to sign up for this educational report.

Go to: www.efp-online.org

* Scroll the right page to the “red flashing” light
* Click on “San Antonio Pharma 2009”
* Enter: Last Name, First Name, Email
* Set your language to “English”


You will receive the report in ENGLISH approximately one month after the meeting.

Feel free to spread this information to your contacts so that as many colleagues may benefit from this unique report of an important medical conference, BY pharmacists, and FOR pharmacists !


Sources

http://www.eahp.eu
http://www.eahp.eu/News/SanAntonioPHARMA-project-by-the-European-Fellowship-for-pharmacists
http://www.efp-online.org/
http://www.asco.org/

New website for health promotion videos launched

The European Commission launches a website for health promotion videos produced in Europe. The aim is to share ideas and best practice and to show what has been done in public health campaigns on issues such as addiction prevention, communicable diseases, cancer or nutrition and physical activity.

You can access the new website from here:
http://www.healthclips.eu/


From the website, you can order a copy of a video to use it for non-commercial information purposes.


Sources

http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/

http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/videos/index_en.htm

Information on the benefits of immunization against diseases

Infectious diseases threaten the health of the citizens of the European Union. The responsibility for preventing the transmission of emerging pathogens and the resurgence of others, as well as enhancing the rapid and coordinated response capability to these threats, is therefore shared by national health authorities and the European Institutions.

Vaccination is unquestionably one of the most cost-effective public health measures available to protect citizens against infectious diseases. The wide-spread implementation of vaccination has led to the eradication of smallpox and has made Europe polio-free. All EU Member States have organised immunisation programmes to protect their citizens against serious, sometimes life-threatening diseases. Yet, some vaccines remain undervalued and under-utilised.

Therefore, the EU works together with the Member States to strengthen the advocacy on the benefits of immunisation against diseases where safe and effective vaccines are available. More specifically, the EU supports the Member States in areas such as immunisation of children against priority vaccine preventable diseases (for example measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, Haemophilus influenzae b, hepatitis B), immunisation against the human papilloma virus and immunisation against seasonal flu.


Links to the EU activities

Public health

• Surveillance of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases
  EUVAC.NET – Surveillance network for vaccine-preventable infectious diseases using epidemiological and laboratory surveillance and managerial methods

• VENICE project
  The Venice project aims to encourage collection and dissemination of knowledge and best practice relating to vaccination and to further develop collaboration and partnership between Member States

• Disease prevention
  Information on the work of the ECDC to reinforce Europe's defences against infectious diseases by pooling European health knowledge and fostering cooperation

• Vaccines against human papilloma virus (HPV)
  In combination with an organised population-wide quality assured cervical cancer screening programme, vaccination against HPV can help to further reduce the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer. Information on cooperation at EU level against cervical cancer.

EC Health Indicators

• Vaccination coverage in children
  Data on the percentage of infants fully vaccinated against against major diseases

European Health Information

• Childhood vaccinations
  Data on childhood vaccinations

Research

• Vaccines for poverty-related diseases
  EU research to develop new drugs and vaccines for HIV, malaria and tubercolosis

• Improving the health of the poor
  EU policy for developing integrated programmes and cooperation to tackle poverty-related diseases

• European and developing countries - clinical trials partnership
  EU initiatives to develop new medical products to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in poor countries

Sources

http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/index_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/care_for_me/vaccinations/index_en.htm

3rd Master Class in Oncology Pharmacy Practise

The European Society of Oncology Pharmacy (ESOP) and the Panhellenic Society of Hospital Pharmacists are offering the 3rd Master Class in Oncology Pharmacy. The event will be held in the NJV Plaza hotel, in Athens, Greece, on 23-26 November 2009.

The meeting is the next in a line of successful past events, offering fundamental knowledge to pharmacists in the field of oncology, both for their pharmacy preparatory work and for providing adequate care and support to cancer patients.

This year’s Master Class will focus on the following issues:

Monday

• Europe, the Balkans and the future in oncology
• The need for quality standards in oncology pharmacy
• Pharmacist involvement from prescription to administration (Workshop)
• Production procedure & GMP/ Cytotoxic drug deliveries-precautions/ Data management/ Aseptic work/ Documentation/ Delivery of cytotoxic drug preparation/ Validation of procedures and internal inspections
• How to establish and run a cytotoxic preparation service: The experience of different European countries
• Contamination by cytotoxic drugs, adverse effects and associated occupational health risks

Tuesday

• Facilities: rooms, equipment, ventilation, safety cabins. Personal protective equipment: gown, gloves, pumps, etc.
• Devices and safety in use
• Safety Cabinet, isolators, use of devices (Workshop)
• Cytotoxic drug stability
• Demand for ED programmes for preparation and documentation in oncology pharmacy
• Quiz

Wednesday

• Cytotoxic drugs: mechanism of action and their use in clinical pharmacology
• Supportive treatment: pain therapy, nausea-vomiting, fatigue, alopecia, mucositis, diarrhea
(Workshop)
• Clinical protocols
• Pharmacovigilance
• Psychological support for the patient
• How can pharmacists manage their feelings of depression?
• Cancer patient management. From diagnosis to therapy (Imaging, pathology, molecular biology, PET scan, mammography, evaluation of results, therapeutic decisions)
• Patient follow-up
• Cancer prevention in the European Union: strategy and actions

Thursday

• Stability of prepared doses, microbiological risk
• Medication errors
• Emergency in clinical oncology: The medical, pediatric and radiotherapy perspective in oncology and antidotes
• With whom and how do I collaborate in clinical service? (Workshop)
• Quiz

For a detailed timetable of the Master Class, please visit the ESOP website.

Course Details

Official language
The official language of the meeting is English.

Organizer

European Society of Oncology Pharmacy (ESOP)
Panhellenic Society of Hospital Pharmacists (PSHP)
Mindwork Business Solutions
ConEvent GmbH

Number of participants

The maximum number of delegates is 40. Registrations will be handled on a “first come, first served” basis, therefore please make sure you register as early as possible.

Certificate of attendance

Participants will be awarded a certificate of attendance, following appropriate evaluation of
the knowledge acquired during the Course they attend.

Registration

The registration fee is €250 for ESOP members and €300 for non-members. This fee covers your participation in the meeting and social events. Travel and accommodation expenses shall be covered by participants. Registration applications should be directed to Ms. Foteini Papagioti at papagioti.foteini@mind-work.gr , no later than Friday, 20 November 2009, preferably with confirmation of payment of the registration fee. After 20 November, you may only register on-site, at the Secretariat operating in the Master Class venue. If you have preregistered, please make sure you bring your registration confirmation with you, so that you can collect your meeting material.

All payments should be directed to:
MINDWORK BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
Bank Account: 342.00.2320002899
Bank Name: Alpha Bank
IBAN: GR4501403420342002320002899

Attendance

Attendance of all classes and sessions is mandatory for participants. Please note that the
meeting Secretariat will provide you with an electronic badge, which you must scan upon
entering and leaving the classroom.

Travel Arrangements

Please note that all travel arrangements shall be made and covered by participants
themselves. The registration fee does not include travel expenses.

Event Organizer

Mindwork Business Solutions
15, Markou Mpotsari str.
Kifissia, 145 61
Athens, Greece
Tel: +30 210 6231305
Fax: +30 210 6233809
Contact Person: Ms. Foteini Papagioti
papagioti.foteini@mind-work.gr


Source

http://www.esop.li/futureevents.php

A Hospital Pharmacist is elected Co-Chair for Users to IHE-Europe

A hospital pharmacist who played a key role in the creation of the Pharmacy domain for Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE), Jacqueline Surugue was elected the Co Chair for Users of IHE Europe Steering Committee in June. www.ihe-europe.net

Since 2007, Jacqueline Surugue has served on the Steering Committee of IHE, representing the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP).

Completing her term as President of EAHP in June, Jacqueline Surugue takes up her duties as IHE-Europe co-chair, saying, “I will bring my enthusiasm to collaborate with co Chairs and members and my support in establishing IHE Europe as a recognized stakeholder on the European level and a strong partner within IHE international with the aim of a coherent interoperability of health information systems”.

IHE-Europe is represented by an executive board with Co-Chairs and two past Co-Chairs of the European IHE Committee, two representing the vendors, two representing the users of IT systems in health care.

As Co-Chair for Users, Jacqueline Surugue joins Peter Kuenecke, the elected Co-Chair for Vendors, in jointly-directing the activities and operations of the not-for profit organization IHE-Europe aisbl.

Hospitals, health authorities and medical societies participate in the activities of IHE-Europe which is also supported by many sponsoring organisations and companies. The organization was initiated jointly by the European Association of Radiology (EAR) and the European Coordination Committee of the Radiological, Electromedical and Medical IT Industries (COCIR).

Jacqueline Surugue is chief of the Pharmacy Department for the 1,200-bed Centre Hospitalier Georges Renon (Niort) in the Poitou Charentes region of France. She has a broad experience on European level in her role as the president of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists, a federation of 29 countries from Europe representing 22,000 hospital pharmacists.

She was elected vice president of the Federation Internationale Pharmaceutique (FIP) Hospital Section in 2006 and is an elected member of the National Council of the French Order of Pharmacists.

Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) International is an organization that enables users and developers of information technology for healthcare to achieve interoperability of systems through the precise definition of healthcare tasks, the specification of standards-based communication between systems required to support those tasks and the testing of systems to determine that they conform to the specifications. The work is managed by IHE committees and sponsored by various national and international bodies, as described in the IHE Principles of Governance, available at www.ihe.net/governance/.

Sources

http://www.ihe-europe.net/

http://www.ihe-europe.net/content/new_cochair.htm

38th European Symposium on Clinical Pharmacy

In 2009, the European Society of Clinical Pharmacy celebrates its 30th anniversary.

ESCP was indeed founded in Lyon in 1979 by clinical practitioners, researchers and educators from various countries across Europe. After 30 years of continuous development, the value of clinical pharmacy is now recognized and we anticipate a bright future. Within an increasingly complex environment, health professionals must coordinate their actions and learn how to use new technologies to maximize efficiency. Such challenges and pressure on performance should not divert us from our essential purpose: Patient Care.

Scientific Programme

Click here to download the Preliminary Programme

The scientific programme includes keynote lectures, invited lectures, oral free communications, scientific and industry-supported symposia, working group meetings, moderated poster presentations and pre-congress educational courses. The official Symposium language is English. No simultaneous translation will be available.

Tuesday, 3 November 2009
Evening Opening Lecture: Pricing of Drugs & Transparency in Health Care, Richard Laing, WHO

Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Plenary sessions: APPROACHES TO INTERDISCIPLINARY CARE
Plenary 1A: Interdisciplinary Cooperation
Plenary 1B: Interdisciplinary Cooperation in Drug & Therapeutic Committees
Plenary 1C: Interdisciplinary Cooperation in Community Pharmacy

Thursday, 5 November 2009
Plenary session: PATIENT ORIENTED CARE
Plenary 2: Talking to Patients about Pharmacotherapy
Pharmacotherapy update 1: New Developments in Anticoagulant Therapy

Friday, 6 November 2009
Plenary session: TECHNOLOGY AND PATIENT CARE
Plenary 3: Integrating Technology in Patient Care
Pharmacotherapy update 2: Biosimilars

All afternoon parallel sessions are scheduled including interactive workshops, oral communications and poster discussion fora. Masterclasses and workshops will be announced in the Provisional Programme and on this website.

Important Dates and Deadlines
Registration opening: 01 April 2009
Abstract Submission opening: 01 May 2009
Abstract Submission deadline extended to: 20 July 2009, Midnight CET
Early Registration deadline: 31 July 2009
Notifications to Abstract Submitters: 14 Sept 2009
Registration Deadline for Abstract presenters: 29 Sept 2009
Register before 31 July 2009 in order to benefit from the low early-bird rates!


Sources

http://www.escpweb.org/site/cms/
http://www.escp-gsasa2009.org/

Common European Drug Database (CEDD) project

The Common European Drug Database (CEDD) project is an initiative of the National Health Insurance Fund Administration of Hungary to make prices of pharmaceuticals easily available for the public of Europe.

The present website is a pilot version with the contribution of the:

• Irish Health Service Executive,
• Finnish Ministry of Social Affaires and Health,
• Slovenian Health Insurance Institute,
• Slovakian Ministry of Health,
• Department of Pharmacy under the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Lithuania,
• Polish Ministry of Health,
• Norwegian Medicines Agency,
• Main Association of Austrian Social Security Institutions and
• State Institute of Drug Control of the Czech Republic

The developers hope that this initiative will be shortly extended to all Member States of the European Union. Comprehensive and updated price information could result in a more competitive, common European pharmaceutical market, which would mean a great health benefit for European citizens and stimulation to European innovation.

In the present version of the website you can search and compare the prices of Austrian, Czech, Finnish, Hungarian, Irish, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Slovenian and Slovakian pharmaceuticals according to product names or ATC codes.


Source

http://cedd.oep.hu/drugs.tib?s=drug-art&f=ceddart1&id=l8xakdcq3osro9bz&portallang=en

Tony West received the 2009 Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists (GHP) gold medal

Tony West received the 2009 Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists (GHP) gold medal in recognition of his sustained contribution to hospital pharmacy at national level in UK.

Tony West is chief pharmacist and clinical director, Pharmacy and Medicines Management, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London.

The award was presented at the Annual National Joint GHP/UKCPA conference by Guild President Richard Cattell.

Tony is a past president of the Guild and is currently a member of the board of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP), where he serves as director of professional development.


Dear Tony congratulations from the European Hospital Pharmacy Blog ;)

Source

Pharmacy Europe

War on hospital bugs

The European Parliament adopted a report backing measures designed to reduce the millions of infections picked up by patients in hospitals each year. The recruitment of specialised nurses, better education, support for research and better information for patients are among the measures proposed.

Patient safety is of increasing concern in healthcare systems everywhere. The most common problems are healthcare associated infections, medication-related events and complications during or after operations. Many such problems could be avoided fairly easily.

To help achieve this aim, MEPs are being asked to approve with amendments, under the consultation procedure, a draft Council recommendation on patient safety, including the prevention and control of healthcare associated infections. The report on this subject was drafted by Amalia Sartori (EPP-ED, IT) and adopted with 521 votes in favour, 6 against and 5 abstentions.

MEPs call for a 20% improvement by 2015

The Council recommendation calls for national programmes and policies on patient safety, better information to patients, improved reporting on "adverse events" such as infections, promotion of training for healthcare workers and knowledge sharing between Member States. MEPs believe it is important to set a reduction target for Member States to meet, so the amendments include a goal of a 20% reduction by 2015, or 900,000 cases a year. Commission studies indicate that such a reduction is achievable.

Millions affected each year

Adverse events occur in between 8% and 12% of patients admitted to EU hospitals, according to Commission statistics. This amounts to 6.7 to 15 million hospital inpatients.

In addition, some 37 million primary care patients a year suffer adverse effects linked directly to the treatment they have received. Among the most common are infections contracted in hospitals and other points of care. On average, these occur in one hospital patient in 20, giving an annual total of 4.1 million patients.

Even more worryingly, nosocomial infections (those resulting from treatment in a hospital or a healthcare service unit, but secondary to the patient's original condition) kill approximately 37,000 people every year. They are among the most frequent and destructive causes of unintended harm.

Factors that help trigger and spread nosocomial infections include viral antibiotic resistance, a high bed occupancy rate, the increase in patient transfers, an inadequate staff to patient ratio, a failure to pay proper heed to hand hygiene and various other practices serving to prevent infections, incorrect use of medical devices.

REF. : 20090422IPR54195

Contact

Constanze BECKERHOFF

• : envi-press@europarl.europa.eu
• : (32-2) 28 44302 (BXL)
• : (33-3) 881 73780 (STR)
• : (32) 498.983.550

---

Richard FREEDMAN

• : press-EN@europarl.europa.eu
• : (32-2) 28 41448 (BXL)
• : (33-3) 881 73785 (STR)
• : (+32) 498 98 32 39

Further information :

• Adopted text (click on 23 April)

Source

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/066-54196-111-04-17-911-20090422IPR54195-21-04-2009-2009-false/default_en.htm

European Association of Hospital Pharmacists in Second Life

European Association of Hospital Pharmacists -EAHP- has "Offices" in the virtual world of Second Life. Architecture and designer is our colleague "Daneel Ariantho".

You can see the machinima he produced for demonstrate the new possibilities of the brand new "Offices". The "avatar actors" are Mr "Daneel Ariantho" and Mrs "Seamless Karu" ;)




The place for the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists on Jokaydian Islands can be visited at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Jokaydia%20II/24/110/25

The Presentation of the exhibition is here: http://eahpvirtualexpo.net78.net/

The Abstract is here: http://eahpvirtualexpo.net78.net/?p=11

Keep on the good work Mr "Daneel Ariantho"

Sources

http://eahpvirtualexpo.net78.net/?p=11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOaqb7Ii0Gc

Highlights from the 14th Congress of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists in Barcelona, Spain

The 14th Paneuropean Congress of European Association of Hospital Pharmacists, organised in Barcelona 25-27 March 2009, was completed with a great success.

Here you can find some photographic snapshots from the congress (you can click onto photos to see in big size).

IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise) Pharmacy domain is created

IHE is an initiative by healthcare professionals and industry to improve the way computer systems in healthcare share information.

IHE promotes the coordinates use of established standards such as DICOM and HL7 to address specific clinical need in support of optimal patient care. Systems developed in accordance with IHE communicate with one another better, are easier to implement, and enable care providers to use information more effectively.

Simon Lettelier describes the details of the new domain in his post.

IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise) Pharmacy domain is created.

This new domain (as others IHE domains) is global.

We are searching sponsors at a worldwide level.

So, feel free to contact the IHE Pharmacy secretary ( simon [.] letellier {@} phast [.] fr ).

Please feel free too to repost, or to forward as email, this information to any organization of interest.

Details below in the IHE Pharmacy - outreach letter :


Dear All,

The pharmacy ecosystem increasingly becomes complex and requires a good interoperability among the participating systems. As a result, IHE International recently created a new global IHE Pharmacy domain with the goal to address the interoperability needs of information sharing systems and workflow systems for community pharmacists and hospital pharmacists. A description of the most important Use Cases can be found in the Pharmacy White Paper (PDF), prepared by IHE Europe.

The initial sponsors of IHE Pharmacy (EAHP, NICTIZ, Phast, GMSIh) have an European scope. In order to reflect the global nature of IHE Pharmacy, we want to outreach our membership and sponsorship to other regions and stakeholders.

According to the IHE Governance document ( here), a domain sponsor provides financial and other resources to support the activities in its domain (e.g. hosting meetings, serving as secretariat).

Hence, if your organization is interested to sponsor or participate in the new IHE Pharmacy domain, please contact the IHE Pharmacy secretary Simon Letellier ( simon [.] letellier {@} phast [.] fr ), by preference before end March 2009. Please feel free to forward this email to any organization of interest.

The creation of a new IHE domain always is an exciting experience and we hope that you want to participate in this challenging effort to improve the interoperability in the pharmacy domain.

We are available to handle further questions and look forward to hear from you.

Kind regards

Geert Claeys
On behalf of IHE Pharmacy Domain Sponsors


Source

http://simonletellier.blogspot.com/2009/03/ihe-pharmacy-domain-is-born-onward.html

Concerns expressed over Spice in European countries

At the end of 2008, concern was expressed in some European countries in relation to ‘Spice’, a herbal mixture monitored since early last year by the EMCDDA’s early-warning system (EWS) on new psychoactive substances. Spice refers to a blend of plant or herbal ingredients, including Indian Warrior and Lion's Tail (1).

A number of Spice products can be bought on the Internet, as well as in head shops and smart shops in some Member States, and are sometimes sold as a mix of air-freshening herbs. A 2008 EMCDDA study into ‘legal highs’ sold via the web, found that Spice was frequently offered as a smoking blend (i.e. 37 % online shops investigated) (2). Different blends and flavours are marketed under a variety of names including: Spice silver, Spice gold, Spice diamond, Spice tropical synergy and Spice Yucatan fire.

Some users have reported that, when smoked, Spice products can have similar effects to those produced by cannabis. This may be due to the fact that a new psychoactive substance, JWH-018 (Naphthalen-1-yl-(1-pentylindol-3-yl) methanon) (3) — a synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist —has been identified in Germany and Austria in at least three Spice products (gold, silver and diamond). It is currently unclear whether JWH-018 is present in all Spice products or merely in some types or batches. It is also possible that other natural or synthetic psychoactive substances are being surreptitiously added to Spice products.

Responding to potential health concerns, Germany and Austria have taken legal action in recent weeks to ban or otherwise control Spice products. In Austria, a directive under the Medicines Act of 7 January 2009 declares that ‘smoking mixes containing JWH-018’ are Towards the better treatment of addiction.

Ongoing research can make a valuable prohibited from being imported or marketed in the country. And the Austrian authorities continue to review whether control is required under its Narcotic Drugs Law. In Germany, following rapid control under the national Pharmaceutical Law in 2008, an emergency regulation (in effect from 22 January), brought five cannabinoids found in Spice mixes under the Narcotic Drugs Law (one of which is JWH018).

Jennifer Hillebrand, Brendan Hughes and Roumen Sedefov

(1) Others include: Baybean, Blue Lotus, Dwarf Scullcap, Honey, Lousewort, Maconha Brava, Marsh mallow, Pink Lotus, Red Clover, Rose, Siberian Motherwort and Vanilla.
(2) Hillebrand, J., Olszewski, D., Sedefov, R. (in press) Substance Use and Misuse, Vol 45.
(3) Another chemical name is (1-pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl) indole).

Source

http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_69417_EN_EMCDDA-Drugnet65.pdf

The White Paper for Hospital Pharmacy and Community Pharmacy is available for Public Comment

The White Paper for Hospital Pharmacy and Community Pharmacy is ready and is waiting for your comments. Geert Claeys, IHE Eur Pharmacy Task Force, send the following info:

The White Paper for Hospital Pharmacy and Community Pharmacy is available for Public Comment at ftp://ftp.ihe.net/International/Europe/Development/Pharmacy/White%20Paper/IHE+Eur-Pharmacy-WhitePaper-PublicComment-1.0.pdf.

The White Paper describes the main interoperability Use Cases, the related actors & sequence diagrams and gives an overview of relevant standards. The White Paper will be used as input for the development of the IHE Pharmacy Integration Profile.

The Public Comment period closes at 25 March 2009. Please use the attached template to submit your comments to secretariat@cocir.org

Kind regards

Geert Claeys

IHE Eur Pharmacy Task Force

* IHE Pharmacy White Paper - Comment Template.doc

Three legislative proposals from the European Commission for safe, innovative and accessible medicines

IP/08/1924

Brussels, 10th December 2008

Safe, innovative and accessible medicines: a renewed vision for the pharmaceutical sector

The EU has been losing ground in pharmaceutical innovation. European patients still suffer from inequalities in the availability of information about medicines, whilst counterfeits are on the rise. To address these challenges, the Commission has tabled a package, consisting of four key parts:

1. A communication to launch reflections on ways to improve market access and to develop initiatives to boost EU pharmaceutical research.

2. A proposal to tackle the growing issues of counterfeiting and illegal distribution of medicines,

3. Proposals to enable citizens to have access to high-quality information on prescription-only medicines and

4. Proposals to improve patient protection by strengthening the EU system for the safety monitoring ('pharmacovigilance') of medicines.

Commission Vice President Günter Verheugen, responsible for enterprise and industry said: “Everything we are suggesting today builds on the needs and interests of patients European citizens should benefit from safe, innovative and accessible medicines. They should be best informed about available medicines and treatments – since their health is at stake. We wish to restore the EU's traditional role as the pharmacy of the world. ”

The pharmaceutical sector makes an important contribution to European and global well-being through the availability of medicines, economic growth and sustainable employment. It has been and remains a strategic sector for Europe. It employs more than 634,000 people and accounts for more than 17% of the EU Research and Development (R&D) expenditure. Most importantly, innovation in human medicines has enabled patients to benefit from treatments considered unimaginable a few decades ago. Much has been achieved. However, major health, economic and scientific challenges lie ahead:

- Increasing globalisation of the sector brings new opportunities but also challenges. New markets are opening up; counterfeit medicines are on the rise;

- Shortcomings exist in the EU pharmaceutical market which affect patients' access to medicines and to relevant information, but also hampers the competitiveness of the industry;

Today’s Communication outlines a series of legislative proposals, political initiatives and international collaboration projects:

1. Legislative proposals:
- to tackle the growing issues of counterfeiting and illegal distribution of medicines (see Memo)
- to enable citizens to have access to high-quality information on prescription-only medicines (see Memo).
- to improve patient protection by strengthening the EU system for the safety monitoring ('pharmacovigilance') of medicines (see Memo)
These proposals will now be transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council.

2. A political communication:
- to discuss with Member States ways to improve market access by making pricing/reimbursement decisions more transparent;
- to develop initiatives to boost EU pharmaceutical research.
- to intensify cooperation with major partners (US, Japan, Canada) to improve medicines’ safety worldwide;
- to strengthen cooperation with emerging partners (Russia, India, China).


More information

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/pharmaceuticals/index_en.htm


Source

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/pharmaceuticals/pharmacos/pharmpack_en.htm